January 29, 2015

The Home Farming Project - More on Organic Gardening

From April through September 2011 I participated as a blogger in a Home Farming Project sponsored by Nabisco / Triscuit Company at the Gather.com site. Some of my gardening articles survived the cut when Gather was sold, some did not. I am trying to save all the ones that did survive so will be sharing through this blog.

I mentioned the Lasagna Method of gardening in a previous article; that is my favorite way to garden as it saves me from the backbreaking job of turning the soil and digging.

Some of the things that can be used for lasagna gardening is layers of anything that will break down into organic matter: shredded paper (it’s slow to break down so make it a thin layer) from computers and even newspapers (avoid the glossy or colored pages); fruit drop from under the trees; pruning of young branches and leaves), grass clippings; poop from stables or wherever you can get it (from chickens, rabbits, goats, horses, and cows) and finally, the wonderful compost-making discards from your kitchen waste; peelings, parings, cut-off ends; including old and limp veggies forgotten in refrigerator.

Layers do not necessarily have to be in the order above; they can be repeated as many times as you wish to reach the depth you need.

If you know someone who raises barnyard animals as mentioned above, ask if you can collect the manure. If they don’t use it, they just might give to you for free if you collect it yourself. Remember it has to ripen before being used for growing edibles. Do not use fresh, especially horse and cow manure, as you can burn the plants easily.

Pigeon pea branches and leaves are great. I plant pigeon peas mainly because they are a wonderful source of nitrogen and when the plants get too large, I clip branches to add to my lasagna beds. When pruning the pigeon peas, chop the branches into smaller pieces; they will break down into organic matter much faster. (*)

Cover the layers of all your organic matter with layers of cardboard and then start over again. Cardboard also helps in keeping the weeds down. You can simply poke holes in the cardboard and plant something that will last a long time. Eventually, that cardboard will also breakdown and underneath you will find lots and lots of nice healthy worms.

Many stores have to pay to get rid of their cardboard….so they are happy to give it to you. Try to stay away from ‘clay coating’…the shinny glossy finish on some cardboard boxes.

(*) One way to age the manure and turn into compost is to collect it in large bags such as feed, planting soil or composting chips, etc., from the feed or garden center. Close it tight and place it in a spot out of the way, where it can get some sun, in back of garage or utility building, etc.; and let it age for a few months. We open the bags always from the top, straight across, and save all of the empty bags to use for composting, twigs, leaves, manure and any other matter. This way there is no offensive odor to share with neighbors as there can be with an open composting bin.

To read the previous posts on this same topic, please click on the following links: